1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to the field of networking, and more specifically, to port licensing in switches.
2. Background of the Invention
A switch is used in networking for routing data between devices attached to the switch. A switch contains multiple ports that are internally connected by a cross bar. Each port checks for a license using a license key associated with the port, when a device is attached to the port. Devices can be server blades, host bus adapters (HBA) or other storage controllers. If a license is available, then the switch and the devices can use the port.
Typically, switch ports are licensed during the manufacturing process. A user can only use a licensed port and is typically not allowed to change the port license or overall port-license configuration. Therefore, there is a need for a method and system that allows a user to dynamically change the overall port-licensing configuration after the manufacturing process while a switch is being used or otherwise.